Hopper-car



A. CAMPBELL.

Hoppin cAn.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I6, \9I8.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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HOPPER CAB.

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accenno oceano@ UNTTED STATES PATEIQ T OFFICE.

ARG-YLE CAMPBELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HOPPER-CAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aue'. 26, 191%).

Application filed December 16, 1918. Serial No. 267,000.

To all whom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, Anonimi CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hopper-Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in hopper cars.

One object of the invention is to provide' a hopper car more particularly adapted for carrying coal, sugar beets and like products and wherein is effected considerable economy of material, particularly in the diaphragms, as compared with cars of corresponding capacity.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide a hopper car of the character above indicated having improved and stronger side wall construction than heretofore.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hopper car having an improved arrangement of doors and door operating mechanism, the mechanism being arranged for maximum convenience of operation.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combinations of the parts and devices herein shown, described and claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevational view of slightly more than one-half of a hopper car embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a vertical, transverse, sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, the upper portions of the side walls being omitted in order to permit the view being shown on the same sheet with Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but taken on the line 1 -4 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 5 is a horizontal, detail, sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 to more clearly illustrate the arrangement of flexible connections. And Fig. 6 is a vertical, sectional view taken substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5.

In said drawings, 10-10 denote vertical side walls of the improved car, 11-11, opposed, downwardly and inwardly inclined side bottom walls of the hoppers, 1Q-12 downwardly and inwardly inclined end bottom walls of the hopper car, and 13 a single, built-up center sill of substantially I cross section. As is apparent from an inspection of Figs. 1, 2 and t, the side walls proper of the car (which is preferably made of metal construction throughout) have their lower edges terminating at points considerably above the upper level of the center sill, and the side bottom walls 11 of the hopper-s are inclined from the lower edges of the side walls proper so as to meet, if projected, beneath the center sill whereby a steep inclination is obtained affording large capacity and promoting quick discharge. The side walls of the ear are provided with side stakes lll-14, and suitable longitudinal strengthening plates are provided along the top and bottom edges of each side wall, as indicated at 15 and 1G. At each body bolster, longer stakes are provided, as indicated at 17 in Fig. 1, the same extending down to the body bolster itself. To brace the side walls and transfer the loads thereof as directly as possible to the body bolsters, diagonal struts or braces 18 are employed as indicated in F ig. 1, the lower ends of said braces being united to the body bolster and corresponding side stake 17. The upper ends of the braces 1S are secured to the side wall of the car at the junction of the upper chord and adjacent side stake 14.

At the center of the car, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, transversely extending plates 19 are provided leaving a transversely extending passageway to accommodate a transversely extending operating shaft 20. The latter may be actuated by any suitable means as by the pawl and ratchet lever arrangement indicated at 21 in Fig. 1, the end of the shaft 20 and associated pawl and ratchet mechanism being suitably mounted on a depending bracket 22, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The diaphragm members of the car at the center and on each side of the center in line with' the nearest side stakes 141-, are formed by transversely extending, proferably pressed, plates. These plates are of substantially trapezoidal outline and approximately of the same height as the center sill. The same are indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 at 24 and 25, respectively, where they appear in true elevation. Said diaphragm members 24 and 25 are comparatively short in a horizontal direction and obviously relatively narrow in a vertical direction. ,This is possible on account of the arrangement of sloping hopper bottom walls and position of the center sill and, as will be apparent, permits of an appreciable saving' in the amount of metal required in the diaphragms with out in any way militating against the strength of the car as an entirety.

Beneath each of the diaphragm members 24 and 25 is provided an inverted U-shaped plate 26 with the arms of the U triangle shaped as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4. These inverted U-plates 26 are provided to form a shield for thel flexible connections of the doors, hereinafter described. In the case of the central U-shaped member 26, the

same is made wider than the others in or-` der to accommodate the flexible connections which are offset from each other more at the center than in the other places on account of the necessity of clearing the worm gear ing` hereinafter referred to. The U-shaped shields are braced on each side thereof by pressed substantially triangle-shaped bracing plates 27-27. At the center, additional bracing angles are employed for the diaphragm 24 as indicated at 28-,28 in Fig. 3.

The entire car may be said to constitute a single hopper and to enable the same to dump centrally of the car, I provide two hopper doors 29-29 Each door 29 extends from end to end of the hopper at its lower portion, that is, from substantially one truck to the other truck. Each door 29 preferably consists of a single longitudinally extending sheet of metal suitably braced by longitudinally extending angles 30 and 31, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and by a series of angles 32 extending crosswise of the door. The doors 29 are hinged along their upper edges by means of a plurality of hinge butts 33, it 'being evident from an inspect-ion of Figs. 2, 3 and 4, that the doors constitute, when in closed position, continuations of the hopper bottoms 11 and that the free edges of the doors 29 meet centrally of the car beneath the center sill thereof.

For operating the doors 29, I provide two longitudinally extending shafts 34, one on each side of the car and disposed beneath the corresponding hopper bottom 11, said shafts 34 being operated through suitable worm and worm gearings indicated conven tionally at 35 in Fig. 3, from the transverse shaft 20. l/Vith this arrangement, as will be understood, both shafts 34 are actuated simultaneously and can' be locked yin any desired position by means of the worm gearing. On each shaft 34 are provided live drums, (only three being illustrated in Fig. l) and coperable with each drum is aseries of links including a hook-shaped link 36 shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 4. Connected to each link 36 is a length of chain 37, the opposite end of the chain 37 being attached to the hopper door 29 located on the opposite side of the center sill, as indicated in Fig. 2. In order to permit this arrangement of iiexible connections from the shafts to the doors, the doors are suitably slotted as indicated at 38--38 in Figs. 4 and 5 so that the chain 37 on one side of the car can pass through the slot 38 of the adjacent door 29 to the door on the opposite side of the center sill to-which it is connected. This will result in a crossing of the chain connections, as' shown in Figs. 2 and 4 but, as will be understood, these chains are offset lengthwise of the car so as to avoil interference and the same are protected or shielded by the inverted U- plates 26 and, at the extreme ends of the hoppers, by the inclined end bottom walls Detailed description of the links and drums is not thought necessary on account of the fact that the same are of well known design and it is only necessary to add that the same are so arranged that, when the doors are in closed position, the pulling strains from the doors are transmitted toA the shaft so that there is no tendency to rotate the latter in an unwinding direction.

By referring to Fig. l, it will be noted that the doors 29 are extended considerably beyond the inclined end bottom walls 12 of the car hopper and the purpose of this is to insurev directing the discharging load toward the center of the track rand to prevent possibility of any of the load shooting out laterally toward the side of the car, as might otherwise happen were the doors terminated on an incline corresponding tothe inclination of the end bottom walls 12 of the car.

Although I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out the invention, the` same is merely illustrative and I contemplate such changes and modifications as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto. f

I claim:

1. In a car of the character' described having a hopper provided wit-h a discharge opening, the combination with opposed center' dumping doors `having meeting free edges and together adapted' toclose said discharge opening, of an operating shaft on each side of the'car, and connections from each shaft to the center dumping door on the opposite side of the center of the car, all of said connections being disposed entirely outside of the hopper.

2. In a carvof the character described, the combination with oppositely swinging center dumping hopper doers hinged. about axes extending lengthwise ofthe car and upon opposite :sides of the longitudinal center thereof, said doors being in transverse alinement, of a longitudinally extending shaft on each side of the car, and duplicated connections from each shaft to the center dumping door on the opposite side of the longitudinal center of the car, said connections at all times being free of any load carried by thedoors.

3. In a car of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally arranged hopper having hopper doors adapted for center dumping, of an operating shaft on each side of the car extending tlengthwise thereof, and flexible connections from the shaft on one side of the car to a center dumping door on the opposite side of the car, the doors being similarly slotted at their bottom edges to accommodate the flexible connections.

Ll. In a car having a pair of dumping doors hinged about parallel axes and with their free edges meeting when in closed position, said doors being adapted to swing in opposite directions during opening movement, of a pair of operating shafts, said shafts being arranged parallel to the axes of the pivoted doors, one shaft on one side of the doors and the other shaft on the opposite side, flexible connections from each shaft to the pivoted door remote therefrom, and means for simultaneously operating said doors.

5.`In a car having a pair of dumping doors hinged about parallel axes and adapted to swing in opposite directions during opening movement, of a pair of operating shafts, said shafts being arranged parallel to the axes of the pivoted doors, one shaft on one side of the doors and the other shaft on the opposite side, and flexible connections from each shaft to the pivoted door remote therefrom, the doors being slotted adjacent their free edges to accommodate the flexible connections.

6. In a car of the character described, the combination with oppositely swinging center dumping hopper doors hinged about axes extending lengthwise of the car and upon opposite sides of the longitudinal center thereof, saidl doors being located opposite each other transversely of the car, of

a longitudinally extending shaft on each side of the car, connections from each shaft to the center dumping door on the opposite side of the longitudinal center of the car, and a transversely arranged actuating shaft adapted to operate the two longitudinally extending shafts simultaneously.

7. In a car of the character described, the combination with a center sill extending lengthwise between the trucks, of side wallsV having their lower edges terminated at a level above the top of the center sill, downwardly and inwardly inclined hopper bottom sheets located intermediate the trucks and extending from the lower edges of the side walls, relatively vertically narrow and horizontally short dia hragms also located intermediate the truc is extending transversely of the car approximately on a level with said center sill, hopper doors, and mechanism for operating the doors.

8. In a car of the character described, the combination with side walls, of a single center sill located below the level of the lower edges of the side walls, downwardly and inwardly inclined hopper bottoms extending from the lower edges of the side walls, hopper doors pivotally mounted and forming continuations of said hopper bottoms when the doors are in closed position, the doors having their free edges meeting below the center sill, diaphragms located in line with the center sill, inverted U-shaped shielding plates below the diaphragms, and mechanism for operating said doors including flexible connections passing beneath said inverted U-shaped shielding plates.

9. In a car of the character described having a single center sill extending between the trucks, the combination with side walls, inclined end hopper bottom walls and inclined side hopper bottom walls together forming substantially a single hopper, of two hopper doors pivoted about longitudinally extending axes and adapted to have their free edges meet directlv beneath sald center sill, each door extending from end to end of the hopper.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th day of Dec., 1918.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents ech, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

